I’ve played this class since classic was retail, it’s my favorite playstyle, and SoD has completely ruined it. My dots tick for 50 damage a piece, meanwhile a single sw:p ticks for 200+. Or I just get nuked for 900+ from take your pick of any of the overpowered burst classes. Warlock dots need a 100% damage buff at a MINIMUM to make them even remotely competitive in the current pvp scene. Can you people please try to remember that things other than this horrible burst meta exist and help some classes that need it for a change?
5 Likes
lvling my shadowpriest
spriest always ends up being a better affy lock than affy lock. This is the case even on retail to this day.
i dont have a problem with my lock. must be a skill issue
Always is. Bad locks love to out themselves.
I’ll elaborate for non-warlock players why affliction is so garbage right now.
Affliction warlocks in PvP essentially do the same exact damage as they did in classic with 3 modifications:
- Better spellpower gear
- Haunt boosts shadow dots 20% (costs a GCD)
- Drain life hits pretty hard but it does damage over 15 seconds, about what most classes do in 2 GCDs… it also requires locks to remain within range and is on a 15 second CD, and it can be dispelled.
With the pvp stamina buffs, I’d actually argue we don’t kill any faster than before SoD. In fact slower in some situations. Affliction pretty weak because other classes just kill too fast. If the pace were to slow, affliction could be ok. Combine this with fact we have 0 peels against most classes. No deathcoil yet either…
Also it feels garbage that I am running around with a succubus because I can’t survive with my fel hunter in most situations. It’s a utility spec greatly boosted by having a fel hunter to dispel and spell lock.
Affliction warlocks are what every class should be in SoD. A little stronger with damage ramp-up time. Unfortunately we are really underperforming cause everybody else is OP.
Destro sucks too btw.
Other considerations:
Prayer of mending negates dot spread. So does wild growth. Affliction locks are directly countered by some of the new abilities of other classes. Warriors can charge in combat now they can stick us even easier than before. Ferals have a 15 second fear immune now. Things are just not pretty.
2 Likes
Other way around. Spriest was always the budget aff lock. Until now anyway.
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as it should be tho
The problem is warlock dot damage hasn’t scaled NEARLY as much as the burst damage from every other class. As you say, DL does over 15 seconds, or 10 GCDs, what any other class does in 2.
And the answer isn’t “just roll fire destro”. If I wanted to play a single button fire mage, I would have rolled a mage.
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affl is kind of not in a great place for PVE though for sure.
Yes and no. I can deff kill most players I come across but it involves fear spamming while my baby dots tickle them to death.
1v2 and 1v3 are way harder than normal because everyone does so much dmg. If you miss a cross CC for like 3 seconds you can just get bursted into the floor.
I don’t think Warlocks need a DMG boost I think everyone just needs to do less damage to be honest.
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Basically this. I think affliction might be the model class. In PvP it isn’t much stronger than before, but in PvE it’s strong with ramp-ups. I take 4 GCDs and two 2.25 second incinerates + immolate for affliction to fully ramp and sustain. 12.5 seconds in an ideal situation. This never happens in PvP.
Run around in meta unkillable with free life drain spamming 0 cd instant casts.
Drain life is dispelable, on a 15s CD, and if ranged disappears. It uses our Chest rune too, and is completely countered by 1 good priest or paladin. It heals for 1000-1200 over 15 seconds. Which is strong, except the amount of damage going out and the range restrictions are misleading.
usually the solo warriors and rogues that struggle against the drain life meta locks.
How many classes can dispel it? Warlocks have a slow and can run towards you cuz it isn’t a channel. If you can’t root or stun them you can’t run far enough fast enough to break it. Even in travel form as a Druid I can’t get away in time to break it and engage again before it’s back up. Plus they are spamming you with other spells as you try to get away to break it. It isn’t as easy to counter play as Warlocks like to pretend it is. Its range and chain distance probably won’t be reduced, but it definitely should be.
Yes balance druids are one of the only classes affliction warlocks hold their own against 1v1. But they are also very easily countered. Just step outside of 24 yard range and you’ll be aight. Spamming CoExhaustion also means a lock isn’t putting up other damage.
They have a slow that takes up another damage slot, so now they’re left with 3 dots still ticking for less than a single sw:p
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- I’m not a balance Druid
- Warlocks get an instant cast zero cooldown slow, so you either oom the oomkin as it tries to stay out of range and then kill them, or it lets you in range and you kill them.
100% agree. like we say warlock is weak right now. Which compared to other class. warlock is very weak.
But in reality, warlock is just balanced right now. The issue is that not a single other class is balanced. they’re all so OP.
Someone else told me, if everyone is OP then nobody is OP. But that is not the case. The baseline is our healthpools. The damage relative to our healthpool is what determines balance in the game.
1 Like